tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19699141519006582242018-03-07T22:43:39.615+00:00Footie AnalystA blog for the learned folk who know their football and everything else that comes with it. if you have something to say or comment on then do it here.The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-79889313045930397682010-03-31T22:09:00.001+01:002010-03-31T22:11:47.061+01:00Time for Dimitar Berbatov to seize the moment for Manchester United<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S7O6hrOtrkI/AAAAAAAAALQ/ZORB2041LDg/s1600/berbatov_vs+bolton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S7O6hrOtrkI/AAAAAAAAALQ/ZORB2041LDg/s200/berbatov_vs+bolton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454908661378690626" border="0" /></a><br /><p>From the hyperactive Wayne Rooney they turn to the languid Dimitar Berbatov to see off Chelsea and Bayern Munich inside five days. The good news is that Berbatov has already scored three times against Germany's grandest club. Less encouraging is that Rooney's replacement as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Manchester United"></a>Manchester United's chief striker posted all three while at Bayer Leverkusen from 2001 to 2006.</p><p>A £30.75m centre-forward comes off the bench to hunt the two wins United need to disprove the accusation that they are a one-man band.</p><p>Berbatov is an international who has played in two Champions League finals and scored 32 times in European competition. Hardly the bare bones of United's squad. Yet the success of his elevation will depend on his response to the urgency of this five-day test and the team's ability to survive the psychological jolt of seeing their best player on crutches.</p><p>The expectation back in August was that Sir Alex Ferguson would deploy Rooney and Berbatov together but the United manager has favoured a five-man midfield with Rooney in a luxury Alan Shearer role. Tactical considerations aside, the implication is that Ferguson's faith in Berbatov has dimmed to the point where Bulgaria's six-times footballer of the year exists to give Rooney a rest or supply an extra weapon when United are in desperate need of a goal.</p><p>Like Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was lethal around the penalty area and so could justify his comparatively low work-rate, Berbatov is the antithesis of the super-busy United striker who seeslosing the ball as a dishonourable act which he has a moral duty to correct. Berbatov must know that most Old Trafford diehards are intolerant of his dreamy style.</p><p>In a long and compelling answer to a question about Van Nistelrooy's successor Sir Bobby Charlton, the embodiment of United's energetic forward play, said in the Observer last year: "I watched him at Tottenham [his previous Premier League club] and I thought he was in charge of his own destiny, that he made the right decisions. But playing for Man United is a bit more demanding. You're expected not just to do all the great things you're good at but also your share of the dirty work – which is chasing back to regain possession, helping your defenders if you're close enough to help.</p><p>"First of all I was very critical of him, to myself, thinking: 'Look at that. As soon as he loses the ball he stops running and starts walking, as if to say – somebody else will do it'. And I thought: 'He must be a good player if he can afford to do that.'"</p><p>Charlton said he had come to understand Berbatov's "really great skill, his awareness and his physical strength at holding people off. Not only that, when he passes he always makes it easy for you. He always gives it perfectly. Everything is so, so precise. Add to that, he's got his control and when he gets round the goal he wants to score.</p><p>"He's frustrating sometimes. Instinctively I think that, if I've lost the ball, I want to chase after it. I want to make up for the mistake I've made. Maybe like George Best you've got to accept him for what he is. Cantona had that arrogance. But he did his fair share of the work. I'd never complain about Cantona in that respect. He was sensational and he had an influence. Given that bit of time and space that Berbatov seems to be finding now, he'll get better and better."</p><p>Since Charlton offered that analysis, mid-way through the striker's first season in Manchester, stagnation has become the theme. Twelve goals from 27 league appearances this term is not a glittering statistic. Rooney had scored 18 times in 13 outings before a typically conscientious urge to stop an attacking run inside his own half led to his ankle injury. Berbatov has yet to score in this season's Champions League but did seize two in the weekend's 4-0 win at Bolton.</p><p>Of the alternatives Michael Owen is out with hamstring damage, Mame Biram Diouf has appeared only five times for United and Federico Macheda is an 18-year-old on the road back from injury (Danny Welbeck is out injured).</p><p>"I'd have enjoyed playing with him but I'd have been arguing with him. A lot," Charlton said. "If you've got people running backward and forward and you're responsible, it's not right. But he's learned. You're not allowed many mistakes and you can't be casual. You can't be casual."</p><p>As a child Berbatov modelled himself first on Marco van Basten, then on Shearer. From the outset on Saturday and again on Wednesday night the United cognoscenti will look for evidence that his self-esteem has not been damaged by his slide in the hierarchy and hope he learned from Shearer the meaning of '<em>carpe diem</em>'.</p><p>Source: <span style="font-style: italic;">Guardian</span><br /></p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-46325890097149837832010-03-25T22:31:00.001+00:002010-03-25T22:32:48.396+00:00Maradona: Lionel Messi 'maturing in giant strides'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S6vkd1E_hiI/AAAAAAAAALI/m9ORJ8Nk89U/s1600/LionelMessi1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S6vkd1E_hiI/AAAAAAAAALI/m9ORJ8Nk89U/s200/LionelMessi1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452702974977476130" border="0" /></a><br /><p>The Argentina coach, Diego Maradona, has hailed Lionel Messi's recent performances after his return from a fact-finding tour around Europe, saying Barcelona's 22-year-old forward was "maturing in giant strides".</p><p>During his trip Maradona saw Messi score a hat-trick, one of two in successive league games. Although he failed to match his brilliant recent form in last night's 2-0 home win against Osasuna, he has been good enough of late to prompt comparisons with Maradona himself. "To me, Messi is better than Maradona," his Barcelona team-mate Pedro Rodríguez said this week. "I play with him, I see him every day and to me he is the best. Maradona has been the best player in history and for me, Messi is even greater than he is."</p><p>With Messi in such fine form, Gonzalo Higuaín scoring regularly for Real Madrid, Diego Milito impressing with Internazionale and Carlos Tevez having an excellent first season at Manchester City, Argentina would appear to have an embarrassment of attacking riches with the World Cup now less than three months away.</p><p>"I'm happy, we have all the Argentinian goalscorers scoring goals in all the leagues in Europe and they're all showing they want to be [at the World Cup]," Maradona told reporters. "It will be a good, very open fight and it will be difficult for me to leave some out because they're scoring incredible goals ... but I have to take 23 players."</p><p>Maradona, who has been Argentina's head coach since November 2008, has called up a hundred players during his tenure as he searched for a winning formula, with the nation's performance in World Cup qualification so poor that they were in danger of failing to reach the finals for the first time since 1970. He could not find a formula in which Messi could replicate his brilliant Barcelona form and only picked Higuaín in the last two games against Peru and Uruguay, that Argentina needed to win.</p><p>"Messi looked fantastic, full of energy, happy ... He's maturing in giant strides," said Maradona. "Messi is another I'm certainly taking [to the finals] as a first-choice player alongside [midfielder and captain Javier] Mascherano," he said.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-88222386820282724872010-03-15T20:49:00.001+00:002010-03-15T20:53:59.179+00:00Rhone Group head list of 'six or seven' potential Liverpool investors<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S56eXj3loyI/AAAAAAAAALA/uDdfz7N1LYY/s1600-h/george-gillett-prince+faisal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S56eXj3loyI/AAAAAAAAALA/uDdfz7N1LYY/s200/george-gillett-prince+faisal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448966726767452962" border="0" /></a><br />Liverpool have moved a step closer to resolving their financial future with "six or seven" potential investors vying to take a majority stake in the club.<br /><br />The first to declare its hand is the Rhone Group, a US fund management firm, run by billionaires Robert Agostinelli and Steven Langman, which has expressed an interest in buying a stake of at least 34 per cent for around £100 million.<br /><br />That would substantially dilute the holdings of owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and break the boardroom stalemate which has hamstrung the club for more than two years.<br />However, Liverpool remain hopeful of receiving a number of competing offers before the Easter deadline set by the club's managing director, Christian Purslow.<br /><br />Six other interested parties are believed to be considering proposals entailing either partial investment or a wholesale buyout of Hicks and Gillett. Those offers would be put to the club's board by Purslow, with sources at Liverpool hopeful of securing new investment "in good time" for the start of next season.<br /><br />Regardless of which offer is accepted, any cash infusion raised by a share issue would be used to pay down the £237 million debt laden on to the club by Hicks and Gillett, a condition laid down by the Royal Bank of Scotland if the two Americans are to refinance loans held by the Government-controlled bank in July.<br /><br />But an end to the search for investment started last year by Purslow would free up the working capital to enable work to start on the club's long-awaited new stadium on Stanley Park this year, as well as, crucially, allowing Liverpool to strengthen their playing staff.<br /><br />The club's manager, Rafael Benítez, has been forced to spend only what he raises in the transfer market for the past two years and the prospect of the funds being available to provide the "four or five" front-line signings Fernando Torres suggested on Saturday are key to his and Liverpool's future without fresh investment are distant.<br /><br />The Spain international is known to harbour concerns over Liverpool's ability to compete for the major honours he so craves, and made the first public expression of his doubts when he called on the club to "make an effort" this summer to bring in the players needed to compete not for fourth place, but for the league title.<br /><br />"His main motivation is winning trophies," said Benítez. "He wants to be playing in the Champions League, but it is not just him. We all want that."<br /><br />But while the arrival of Rhone's offer may signal the beginning of the end for Hicks and Gillett, doubts remain as to whether any investor would be willing to inject so much cash without taking at least a 51 per cent stake, thereby guaranteeing overall control.The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-59213475222089249242010-02-27T20:27:00.002+00:002010-02-27T20:30:12.181+00:00O'Neill dismisses talk of him becoming the next Man United manager<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S4mAxLH2xZI/AAAAAAAAAKw/XAs4S6ZOSFg/s1600-h/Martin-O-Neill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S4mAxLH2xZI/AAAAAAAAAKw/XAs4S6ZOSFg/s200/Martin-O-Neill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443023206941640082" border="0" /></a><br />Like David Moyes at Everton there is an added dimension to the work of Martin O'Neill. They are both engaged in the service of their clubs while, like it or not, simultaneously taking part in an unspoken audition for the role of Manchester United manager.<br /><br />They can never admit it, of course. That does not stop the rest of football weighing the possibility. Last week, Moyes had the catwalk to himself with victory over United at Goodison. Today the beauty contest repairs to Wembley, where it is O'Neill's turn to show Ferguson a fine pair of heels. <p>At 57, O'Neill probably has one more big posting in him. The fans of Aston Villa, who have not always been kind to him, are increasingly accepting of the idea that he might find career fulfilment at Villa Park. This is the stated aim. Villa's last trophy came 14 years ago. A decade has passed since they last contested a final, the FA Cup in 2000. Two League Cups is the sum of their labours in the 28 years since Peter Withe bundled the ball off a post in Rotterdam to win the European Cup.</p> <p>O'Neill tells you that this is his focus, that the biggest job in domestic football is not a matter for him. "I have never thought about that at all, not for one second, not even when I was up at Celtic. Sir Alex Ferguson will decide, I would reckon probably in the year 2033, when he feels the Champions League has passed him by one last time. I will have departed this earth long before him."</p> <p>O'Neill distances himself from the pageant with characteristic charm. The glow of FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace the night before is still on him. The Pullman that will take the team to London is parked at the door. A sense of anticipation is building. O'Neill is at the centre of the narrative. You sense he would be happy to talk all day. On another afternoon the question of the Ferguson succession might send him spinning out of Bodymoor Heath in a haze of expletives. On this day, he is happy to play keepie uppie with the theme.</p> <p>"Following Ferguson is the impossible job, absolutely. How many times as he won the championship? Ten times, something like that? It has never really bothered me. There is always somebody coming up, somebody whose name is relevant at the time. I never pay any attention to it. I really enjoy my job here. For us to win a couple of competitions in the next couple of seasons is what it is all about, to qualify for the Champions League, that sort of stuff."</p> <p>O'Neill takes questions like Socrates at the Acropolis, stroking his chin in contemplation, as if teasing the words from his mouth in precise order. "The fact that I'm facing Sir Alex Ferguson does not make the difference. The fact that we are in a final at Wembley is enough for you to want to do your very best, to show off your ability. When you are up against Manchester United and Sir Alex in the final it is not so much that you want to raise your game, you have to if you are to win."</p> <p>Oh come now Martin, you have taken four points off him already this season, three of those at Old Trafford. What's to fear? Surely you have his measure. The thought prompts another caress of the jaw, and a smile that suggests the Priory is the place for any who believe that. "I don't think that for one second. People have been trying for a lot of years to get the measure of him. He has done an amazing job even to be at Old Trafford as long as he has, at a club that is demanding success. He has delivered and continues to deliver."</p> <p>OK, that's enough about Ferguson. O'Neill is unique in the upper echelon of English football in his adherence to a domestic template. This is not about believing absolutely in English virtues but in following a line of thinking that respects the league in which he works. Were he in Italy the core would be Italian, German in Germany and so on. That his captain today, Stiliyan Petrov, is Bulgarian, does not contradict the broad sweep of O'Neill's rationale. Neither does the inclusion of John Carew or Carlos Cuéllar. The thrust of the Villa proposition is carried by James Milner, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stewart Downing, Emile Heskey, Stephen Warnock, Luke Young and so on.</p> <p>"I do feel that the heartbeat of the football club should be (the nationality of) the league that you are playing in, the core of this team is fundamentally English. That does not mean that I hold everything by it. At Celtic I had a group of Swedes that loved it to death."</p> <p>O'Neill is half way through his fourth year at Villa Park. According to some his reliance on a traditional English structure does not stop at birth certificates. After their recent meeting Arsenal aesthete Arsène Wenger reached for the long ball stick with which to beat O'Neill. Wenger rarely sees virtues in the opposition when they get the better of his team. His stylistic hauteur gets right up O'Neill's nose. Perceptions, one might say, have yet to catch up with the evolving brand of adventure O'Neill is orchestrating.</p> <p>"The stats showed that we played three more long balls than they (Arsenal) did in the game. I had a wee smile when Bacari Sagna hoofed it 80 yards up the pitch in the first few minutes against Sunderland. I get irritated. I should have remembered that he said Manchester United were anti-football."</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-71979654932466978742010-02-21T01:09:00.002+00:002010-02-21T01:10:24.887+00:00Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester City will never be bigger than United<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S4CH750hbYI/AAAAAAAAAKo/8y61PDB4H54/s1600-h/sir+alex+ferguson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S4CH750hbYI/AAAAAAAAAKo/8y61PDB4H54/s200/sir+alex+ferguson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440497813066706306" border="0" /></a><br /><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/sir-alex-ferguson" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Sir Alex Ferguson"></a>Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a dig at "noisy neighbours" Manchester City by comparing them to the wealthily backed Sunderland side of the 1950s, who wound up being relegated. The Manchester United manager, talking in an exclusive interview to relaunch this morning's Observer, referenced Sunderland's post-war nickname of 'the Bank of England club' – and the fact that they lost their top-flight place in 1958.</p><p>Asked about the impact of City's purchase by the Abu Dhabi United Group, Ferguson said: "It has increased that competitive element between the fans and the media, no doubt about it. The decibel level went up in the last two games [the Carling Cup semi-final ties last month]. We have to get used to it, have to do something about it and accept the challenge. There's nothing wrong with having a challenge. We have to do what we're good at and hope it's good enough."</p><p>The Scot added: "[Manchester City] is a club with so much wealth they could buy every player in the world, but can they buy a team, can they buy a Manchester United spirit? I don't expect City to be bigger than us, I really don't, even with all that money. The problem with having all that money is that you buy indiscriminately. Sunderland, in the 1950s, the Bank of England team – relegated. I wouldn't wish ­relegation on City."</p><p>Ferguson also addressed his own club's ownership, saying that while he understood supporters' concerns and respected their right to hold forth on the state of the club under the Glazer family, he had always found the American owners supportive. "I'm never against protest," he said. "I've been brought up in protest all my life. I was involved in the [Govan shipyards] apprentices' strike of 1961 ... It's everyone's right, there's no doubt about that."</p><p>But he added: "My problem with it, being manager of Manchester United, is that I've got owners who have never caused me any bother. Any time I've asked for money they've given it to us ... The debt has concerned a lot of people. David Gill [the club's chief executive] has had a lot of chats with the staff to settle them down, to assure them everything's fine. As far as I'm concerned, I bought [Chris] Smalling for big money [£10m for the Fulham centre-back]. So for me, life goes on. As I say, the Glazers have been fine with me, I've never had any problem."</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-24379514623778822762010-02-09T20:43:00.001+00:002010-02-09T20:44:48.758+00:00Arsène Wenger's will to win on his own terms is leading to mediocrity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S3HJMnhHdiI/AAAAAAAAAKg/8ehhUUiWCM4/s1600-h/arsene+wenger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S3HJMnhHdiI/AAAAAAAAAKg/8ehhUUiWCM4/s200/arsene+wenger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436347443816396322" border="0" /></a><br /><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/arsene-wenger" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Arsène Wenger"></a>Arsène Wenger has always followed his own path, but he is leading Arsenal into mediocrity. A largely justified reputation as a visionary distracts people from noticing the most basic flaws in the team. With 25 Premier League games completed, the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge means they have conceded 30 goals. That equals the worst defensive performance Wenger has presided over since his arrival in the autumn of 1996.</p><p>Statistics of that sort are far from bloodless, and Arsenal have been wounded. Never before in the history of the Premier League have they lost all four of their encounters with Chelsea and Manchester United. The Old Trafford defeat may have been undeserved, but there is no quibbling with the aggregate score. Arsenal must be dazed after the 10-2 thumping from Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson's teams.</p><p>In a practical sense, nothing grave has befallen the club. Arsenal are very likely to qualify for next season's Champions League and their current interest in the competition is genuine. They are favourites to get the better of Porto in the last-16 tie that starts next week. The real harm is done to fans, who are starting to feel undernourished on a diet of idealism, and, less gravely, to neutrals who would prefer to see more than just a pair of contenders for the Premier League title.</p><p>Two seasons ago Arsenal topped the table at this juncture and appeared reasonably well-equipped. There was to be terrible misfortune in Eduardo da Silva's broken leg at Birmingham City in February 2008. He had notched a dozen goals in that campaign, but has understandably had less impact since his return. He, however, was not to be the only person whose loss would be felt. Jens Lehmann and Gilberto Silva left at the end of that campaign.</p><p>It may have been time for them to go, even if the Brazilian was still capable of commanding a place in his national team when England were beaten three months ago, but they have not been replaced satisfactorily. Manuel Almunia has none of the command that Lehmann exuded, and seems to spread unease in the defence. Where holding midfielders are concerned, Arsenal now have no experienced candidates. United and Chelsea have been permitted to notch goals on the break in successive weekends.</p><p>The club needs to find a starting point, but Wenger has been disdainful of lesser prizes that might actually be alluring to supporters. Arsenal virtually inflict FA Cup defeats on themselves, and a lightweight selection went out at Stoke City last month. This policy is intended to conserve energy for more important challenges, but getting knocked out does appear to be dispiriting. Since leaving the Britannia Stadium, Arsenal have not won in three games.</p><p>Those matches have been particularly tough, but the pattern is also familiar. In 2008, Wenger sent out a weakened line-up against United in the FA Cup and watched as they were crushed 4-0. Injuries were a factor but some of the absentees faced Milan four days later. If Wenger had been writing off the FA Cup it proved to be an error as he helped United to develop the momentum that ultimately took them past the then leaders, Arsenal, in the league.</p><p>It is traditional and often fair to point to Arsenal's lack of means, particularly while they concentrate on paying off the cost of the Emirates, but there are limitations, too, that are self-imposed and idiosyncratic. The deals that saw Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor move to Manchester City for a total of £41m was extraordinarily good business for Arsenal and that unanticipated sum was a windfall. The money, all the same, was not used to bring in the centre‑forward who was so badly needed.</p><p>There was plenty of time to act since they left Arsenal when over a month of the transfer window remained. Wenger then spoke of wishing to bring in a striker in January, but no business was done. Though the manager was on a demanding mission, it is for his ingenuity and knowledge that he is employed. Sympathy for the harm done by the loss of Robin van Persie to ankle trouble in November is tempered by the recognition that Wenger knew the Dutchman was injury prone.</p><p>Arsenal remain the most idiosyncratic of Europe's major clubs. Wenger, with his intelligence and commitment to streamlined football, has endowed them with a status they never enjoyed before but there are days, too, when it seems that success will only be accepted on his pure and personal terms.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-4985846740202333152010-02-06T11:43:00.001+00:002010-02-06T11:45:15.158+00:00Ferguson starts mind games with Ancelotti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S21WPyoa3aI/AAAAAAAAAKY/w8hhfg7Ete8/s1600-h/carlo_ancelotti_chelsea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S21WPyoa3aI/AAAAAAAAAKY/w8hhfg7Ete8/s200/carlo_ancelotti_chelsea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435095154595388834" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="font-null">Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday blew the dust off his self-written manual on how to win the Premier League, thumbed through the well-used pages, stopped at the chapter called "Mind Games" and put them to work ahead of today's encounter with Portsmouth.</p> <p class="font-null">Ferguson stated that he was not even aware that title rivals Chelsea were playing against Hull City on Tuesday evening in their game in hand over United, only learning of the 1-1 result after watching his son Darren's Preston North End side lose 4-1 at home to Barnsley.</p><p class="font-null">If that is true, it is an incredible oversight from a man as meticulous as Ferguson. The chances are that it is an attempt by the United manager to portray himself as so comfortable and almost blasé about the title run-in that nobody else matters and a win today would send United back to the Premier League summit, at least until Chelsea play Arsenal tomorrow. "You know, I didn't realise they [Chelsea] were playing," he smiled.</p><p class="font-null">"I thought they were playing on the Wednesday. I was at a game and left with five minutes to go and on the radio it said it was still one-each at Hull. I thought it was the next day so it was a wee surprise for me."</p><p class="font-null">Success for United in the post-Christmas period and Ferguson's willingness to sow the seeds of mental unease in his opponents go hand in hand. They picked up 58 points from an available 66 from Boxing Day and onwards last season, 47 from 60 in the 2007-08 season and 42 from 57 in 2006-07 and as those years all ended in title success, Ferguson is keen for his team to maintain that tradition.</p><p class="font-null">"Historically, we have always grasped the nettle at this time of the year," Ferguson said. "The players realise there is something at stake and we can't afford inconsistency.</p><p class="font-null">"Teams will drop points in every run-in, but we are experienced and know that if you're going to drop more than the rest you're going to lose the League. Our aim is to try to be as consistent as we can, and produce the kind of performances we did on Sunday [against Arsenal] and that will take us very close. Each game towards the finish becomes more important and it doesn't matter who it is, we want three points from every one now.</p><p class="font-null">"Whatever games we have got left, if we win most of them we have a good chance and Portsmouth comes into that category so it's a big game for us."</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-39807544089673650302010-01-30T14:07:00.001+00:002010-01-30T14:09:03.923+00:00Man City aim for friendlier rivalry with United<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S2Q9cieGsEI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/1sbPV8LftZc/s1600-h/Manchester-United-v-City.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S2Q9cieGsEI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/1sbPV8LftZc/s200/Manchester-United-v-City.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432534611014365250" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="font-null">Manchester City's Arab owners want to co-exist with Manchester United in a spirit of rivalry mirroring Milan and Internazionale's, with new manager Roberto Mancini so confident of his future beyond this summer, that he is seeking to buy a property in the city.</p> <p class="font-null">Mancini has been assured that his job is not dependent on reaching the 70-point target which predecessor Mark Hughes agreed to at a board meeting last August and the Arabs' impressions of the Italian five weeks into his Eastlands career are – results aside – that he is more willing to communicate directly with them and keener to take on the more sizeable backroom staff befitting a club with City's aspirations.</p><p class="font-null">Mancini was manager of Inter and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyanbin Zayed Al Nahyan's representatives are particularly taken with the footballing environment he left behind in Milan. They want to redefine their aspiration as one of perpetual rivalry with United, rather than one necessarily built on seeking permanently to topple the Premier League champions to become the "No 1" side in the city. Abu Dhabi hosts the Fifa Club World Cup for a second successive year and the Arabs are understood to be excited by the idea of United being in the Emiracy to compete for the trophy.</p><p class="font-null">The notion of co-existence did not entirely fit with the words of chief executive Garry Cook at the Mad Hatter in New York, though the Arabs' sense is that Cook was left exposed when he was being partisan at a City-supporting bar. Consideration is being given to whether more staff are needed to prevent a repeat of the outcome in which Cook's speech was secretly recorded, though his determination to be at the grass roots may simply mean he has to be more circumspect.</p><p class="font-null">City retain hopes of securing the £5m signature of England Under-21 winger Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough, despite Boro manager Gordon Strachan's reluctance. The pursuit of Roma central defender Marco Motta is not over either, though developments in Italy saw the deal stall earlier this week. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-42664729375578251312010-01-21T14:02:00.001+00:002010-01-21T14:03:46.837+00:00Wayne Rooney's passion cannot mask signs of Manchester United decline<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S1hetiRYm1I/AAAAAAAAAKI/HfZxfF6ZIEA/s1600-h/wayne-rooney_vs+chelsea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S1hetiRYm1I/AAAAAAAAAKI/HfZxfF6ZIEA/s200/wayne-rooney_vs+chelsea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429193487181978450" border="0" /></a><br /><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Manchester United"></a></p>Manchester United still have admirers in high places. Roberto Mancini, once the successful manager of Internazionale, showed them every respect on Tuesday night. His policy, for the most part, was one of mere containment, yet it worked well enough to leave his Manchester City side with a 2-1 lead to take into the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.Innumerable teams have felt compelled merely to try to get in United's way. Over the years, they have usually been trampled by Sir Alex Ferguson's<p> players. The visitors did run all over City once again but the only real harm was to the dignity of Mancini's players. United may have scored, but the opposition's goalkeeper, Shay Given, was asked simply to be his usual impressive self and had no need to be superhuman.</p><p>United need nobody to tell them about the fallibility stealing over their squad. They have now endured seven defeats in all competitions and there are a lot of stiff challenges still. This campaign is, all the same, an odd one since the team is definitely not in desperate straits.</p><p>It would be no shock if they recovered to eliminate City in the second leg. For that matter, they have a close-up view of the pinnacle of the Premier League, since they are only a point behind the new ­leaders, Arsenal.</p><p>The Champions League did not cause them all that much distress either, even if Besiktas beat them at Old Trafford. The gap between English and Italian football is probably narrowing, but United will expect to wriggle past Milan in the last 16 tie next month.</p><p>United must primarily be concerned about the medium and long-term prospects. Nobody has to tell Ferguson that key men are getting old. On Tuesday, Gary Neville had to confine his provocative ­gesturing to the sidelines, since he was an unused substitute. Paul Scholes, 35, was not introduced until the 88th minute and Ryan Giggs, 36, looked ­ageless in the autumn and may have other sprightly spells to come, but his impact was limited at Eastlands even if he was in ­position to knock home the opener. Edwin van der Sar, 39, had nothing to apologise for, but the veteran understandably does not dominate the goalmouth.</p><p>Ferguson may well have had it in mind to engineer a transition, but Ben Foster was undone when he had to justify his sound reputation by standing between the posts for United week after week. The manager is having some trouble in accomplishing what he has achieved memorably in the past, the reconstruction of the squad.</p><p>Some additions such as Anderson have still to convince and he was at fault when <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/carlos-tevez" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Carlos Tevez"></a>Carlos Tevez, with his second goal of the night, scored the winner against United. Apart from that, renewing the squad is a thorny topic in this financial climate.</p><p>United followers, understandably, rage against the Glazers and the various means they can deploy to extract money from the club. Unless the takeover had been conducted by a bidder of immeasurable means, as Sheikh Mansour sometimes seems to be at City, the owner of United was bound to a target of understandable rage.</p><p>The Glazers are not endearing, but ­having completed the takeover for £800m in 2005 at the delirious heights of the ­Premier League's fashionability, they will not be stopped now from striving to make sense of that benefit. A splurge on signings would only make sense if it was calculated that the disaffection of fans was liable to be even more costly. It would take a great deal more distress before Ferguson turned into some rogue manager who gave a coded endorsement to would-be ­insurrectionists. The very idea is inconceivable. Ferguson's emphasis will be on winning and it is not at all outlandish to visualise the Premier League trophy remaining in his grasp.</p><p>There was a piquancy about Tevez's goals, but few people had quibbled when United did not exercise the £25m option of retaining the Argentinian in 2008. He had almost seemed to try too hard, omitting in the process to show his flair. The manager would not have guessed then that he would have to take a chance on a Michael Owen who had . a limited impact at Newcastle UnitedFerguson will explain that he has merely refused to pay outlandish prices of late, but he is left with a squad that, while capable, is in gradual decline. United badly need to see Rio Ferdinand returning to the line-up, but at the centre-half's age a back condition will probably have to be managed anxiously rather than cured. Amid the various difficulties in the squad, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/wayne-rooney" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Wayne Rooney"></a>Wayne Rooney had the industry on Tuesday of a man determined to make do for every deficiency.</p><p>That level of technique and desire is precious. Should Rooney be injured, jaded or disillusioned, United's niggling problems could turn into agonies of despair.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-10060905516543606982010-01-12T20:13:00.002+00:002010-01-12T20:16:05.797+00:00How the Glazer family have milked debt-ridden United for millions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0zYIY5eqEI/AAAAAAAAAKA/cUKEM2ZDExE/s1600-h/glazers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0zYIY5eqEI/AAAAAAAAAKA/cUKEM2ZDExE/s200/glazers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425949289708693570" border="0" /></a>Lurking in the full, heart-sinking detail of the Glazer family's proposal to borrow £500m, a partial replacement for the £700m debts their takeover has loaded on to Manchester United, is a page documenting the millions United have paid out to the family members themselves. None of the Glazers appear to have taken a salary out of the club since that May 2005 takeover, which United fans bitterly opposed and which has since cost the club more than £325m in interest.<p>In those three and half years, ticket prices have almost doubled at Old Trafford, where previously they were restrained to cater for the regulars at the Lou Macari Fish Bar, as well as the prawn sandwich consumers.</p><p>The MU Finance plc prospectus, launched in the City yesterday, sets out the fortune the Glazer family have reaped from the club they borrowed £540m to buy. From 1 July 2006, in five separate payments, a round total of £10m was paid in "management and administration fees" to companies affiliated to the Glazers. Under the new bond issue, the family is entitled to be paid up to £6m by United in management and administration fees.</p><p>On 30 June last year, United entered into a consultancy agreement with SLP Partners, "a company related to certain of our ultimate shareholders", to pay up to £2.9m. On top of that, on 19 December 2008, each of Malcolm Glazer's five sons and one daughter, all of whom are directors of Red Football Limited, each personally borrowed about £1.66m from the club, a total of £10m.</p><p>Added together, the management fees, consultancy agreement maximum and the £10m the six family members actually borrowed from United make a total of £22.9m paid to the family and their affiliated companies in three and a half years.</p><p>No explanation was offered yesterday for these fees, or for why the Glazer family felt the need to borrow £10m from Manchester United. The Glazer family's official spokesman, who is responsible for discussing United's financial affairs, declined to comment.</p><p>Duncan Drasdo, chairman of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, was more forthright. "Now we know that as well as their takeover imposing a huge debt on the club, and the massive interest payments United have to service each year out of the club's ticket and other income, the Glazer family have paid themselves many millions of pounds personally," he said. "The tide is turning at Old Trafford as fans see how much the takeover has cost, the increased ticket prices and the failure to invest in the team despite £81m received from selling Cristiano Ronaldo. We do not want the Glazers to refinance the massive debts they have brought to the club — we want them to go."</p><p>The accounts released yesterday were for just one company, Red Football Limited, in the thicket the Glazers have built around the Old Trafford crock of gold. The figures showed the net interest for the year to 30 June 2009, on the £514.5m debts loaded on to that company, was £42m. That, then, soaked up more than half the galactic fee Real Madrid are scheduled to pay for Ronaldo. Another United company records the £175m also owed to hedge funds, at 14.25% interest — a charge in 2008-09 of £25m.</p><p>Sir Alex Ferguson said last week that the Ronaldo money is available to him, and he had "absolutely no issue at all with the club's finances". Yet the £81m took United from a thumping, multimillion-pound loss it would have recorded, into the £26m profit being highlighted to the City yesterday.</p><p>It is, quite simply, impossible to sustain the argument, to intelligent supporters stumping up their hard-earned cash for tickets at ever-increasing prices, that the £700m borrowings the Glazers have imposed, and £67m of interest payable last year, is having no impact.</p><p>City sources were saying yesterday that United's sheer size, income and dedicated following makes the bond issue an attractive enough offer – despite the "high degree of risk", including a possible fall in success, decline in crowds and uncertainty over who will replace Ferguson.</p><p>The fees to be earned by the bankers and professionals who have made this all possible is £15m. By the end of it, the Glazer family may be able to replace £500m they have borrowed with a different £500m borrowed on slightly less terror-inducing terms. But Manchester United, formerly the proud, rich, football behemoth of the Premier League, will still be laden with the extraordinary debts of a takeover which nobody wanted, except for seven members of a family in Florida, and their very well-paid advisers.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-23798632346742000162010-01-07T13:14:00.002+00:002010-01-07T13:16:46.599+00:00Will Manchester United's Gary Neville be missed?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0Xer1wfWQI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Mrnuk3dNyx8/s1600-h/gary+neville.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0Xer1wfWQI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/Mrnuk3dNyx8/s200/gary+neville.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423986170983831810" border="0" /></a><br /><p> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/2437947/Paper-View-Football-news-rumours-headlines.html" target="_blank"><strong></strong></a>Neville, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, has played his entire career for Manchester United after coming through the youth system. But unlike that venerated duo, Neville remains wildly unpopular with many fans around the countryside, particularly on Merseyside. </p> <p> His most famous quote – "I can't stand Liverpool, I can't stand Liverpool people, I can't stand anything to do with them," – cemented his reputation as United's chief Scouse-baiter, a role he has revelled in. His attitude towards Manchester City is similarly partisan, and while many United fans love him for it, others have found Neville's more aggressive pronouncements as slightly cringeworthy coming for a player from a nice family in Bury.<br /></p><p> When Neville does retire, he will do so as one of the most decorated players in the history of English football, having won 16 major honours, including two Champions Leagues. He has also won 85 England caps and played in three World Cup finals. </p> <p> But did his position as a United player – and his close relationship with David Beckham – advance his cause ahead of more deserving players? And has his attitude only incited more bad blood between rival players and supporters? </p> <p> Or do you think football needs more Gary Nevilles – one-club men who wear their heart on their sleeves – and less "robots"?</p><p>Source: <span style="font-style: italic;">Telegraph</span><br /></p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-33659821542146295262010-01-05T18:58:00.001+00:002010-01-05T18:59:32.233+00:00Liverpool fans have genuine cause for optimism in 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0OMBRQGdzI/AAAAAAAAAJw/VnxopgWqZnk/s1600-h/liverpool+fans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 101px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/S0OMBRQGdzI/AAAAAAAAAJw/VnxopgWqZnk/s200/liverpool+fans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423332329722902322" border="0" /></a>It seems that 2010 has started just as 2009 ended for Liverpool - engulfed in gloom and foreboding.<p>The FA Cup draw at Reading was deemed to be yet another disappointing result, and apparently in keeping with the trend that saw them slip down the Premier League and out of the Champions League before Christmas.</p><p>Disappointing that is, until Manchester United's tie against Leeds, which highlighted that the Cup is always a devilishly tricky competition in which to assume that superior resources will always guarantee progress.</p><p>In fact, the draw at Reading wasn't such a bad result at all. OK, Liverpool didn't play particularly well, but they emerged relatively unscathed, still in the draw for the next round where they will have a home tie should they win the replay at Anfield.</p><p>Which is a roundabout way of saying that all is not doom and gloom at the club, no matter what the more cynical commentators may suggest.</p><p>Of course, not one fan will be happy with the position Liverpool currently find themselves in, and most will be angry that their dream at the start of the season of a title-winning campaign will not come to fruition for another year.</p><p>But look beyond that temporary dip in form and fortune - and for all the big four clubs, it is always temporary, given the resources they can command - and there are distinctly encouraging signs that 2010 may not be such a bad year at Anfield after all.</p><p>The reason for my optimism is simple. Liverpool have finally got direction in their boardroom, and with it a plan to get the new stadium built that will generate the funds to underwrite future success.</p><p>Don't believe me? Well, the Chief Executive of Liverpool City council revealed only last week - by accident it seems - that the investment is almost sorted for the ground to be be built, and the work could get underway by the end of the year. And he will know, because he has to give consent for it.</p><p>The club has a new MD in Christian Purslow who has an impressive track record in finance and investment, and he also has a close, and key, relationship with the banks.</p><p>Already, Liverpool are a very different operation commercially than they were even 12 months ago, and he has put into place a blueprint that will take the club forward, with or without the American owners.</p><p>By the end of this season, debt will have been reduced significantly, and partners found to help the construction of the new stadium to get underway.</p><p>Hicks and Gillett may well be gone by then, but if they are not, then their stake in the club will certainly have been diluted and their influence on the future much less significant.</p><p>Purslow and his commercial team have been quietly working behind the scenes to bring in new investment, to get agreement with the owners and the banks over the stadium build, and my understanding is that it is almost in place, so expect an announcement soon.</p><p>And when Liverpool do start to build a new ground, then the fans who have been crying out for a rich sugar daddy to come and bail them out may just discover that they don't necessarily need that particular scenario any more.</p><p>On the surface, Manchester City's situation would seem attractive to any supporter. Who wouldn't want a wealthy benefactor to write apparently unlimited cheques?</p><p>But what happens when he gets bored, as Roman Abramovich seems to have done at Chelsea? The money dries up, and the financial problems kick in. If he decides he's had his fun and leaves completely, then what happens next?</p><p>Perhaps the best model to base a successful football club on, is that operated by Barcelona, and - to a lesser extent - Manchester United. Certainly United before the Glazers, and their massive debts.</p><p>The likes of Liverpool and United have such a massive global fan base that they can sustain their own success without the need for a sugar daddy, so long as they are run properly at boardroom level.</p><p>Christ, United have incredible debts at the moment, but are still favourites for the title, and are still one of only four clubs who, probably, can win the Champions League this season.</p><p>For Liverpool to be in the same position, they need to get their ground built, and they need the right direction at the top.</p><p>They have got the latter now, because it is obvious that Purslow is calling the shots at Anfield, and the Americans are finally falling into line behind him. And it seems he knows what he is doing.</p><p>When they get the latter - allowing them to access dramatically increased revenue streams - then they will be as financially viable as any team in the Premier League. </p><p>While that may all seem like a distant dream, it isn't. It could - and should - happen this year, and if it does, then it will give real cause for Liverpool fans to celebrate, no matter what is happening on the pitch right now.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-23579880683796703382009-12-22T23:19:00.002+00:002009-12-22T23:23:50.461+00:00David Beckham has paid the price for leaving Manchester United in search of global fame<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SzFU-JneTfI/AAAAAAAAAJo/NKfRv-pJUgk/s1600-h/David_Beckham.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SzFU-JneTfI/AAAAAAAAAJo/NKfRv-pJUgk/s200/David_Beckham.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418205253413522930" border="0" /></a><br /><h2 style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"></span></h2>The memories will come surging back for David Beckham when he steps down from the AC Milan team coach outside Old Trafford at 6.15pm on March 10 and waves to the hundreds of Manchester United supporters who gather early to see the stars.Beckham will nod to familiar faces, those stewards and club staff who have inhabited this famous stadium for decades. Like him, they are lifelong United fans. Unlike him, they could never imagine not being here. At 7.35pm, Beckham will return to the tunnel, encountering fellow-alumni from United's starlet-filled 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team. The cameras will linger on the handshakes and words of greeting between Beckham and Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. Friends reunited. <h2 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></h2> <p> As he marches towards the pitch, stepping out into this grand arena to a tumultuous welcome, Beckham may be tempted to glance across and note the still sinewy figure lost in concentration about the task ahead, oblivious to all the pomp and ceremony. It will be Ryan Giggs, the captain of that remarkable 1992 side, the player Beckham bought his first car off (a £6,000 Ford Escort). Giggs will be staring intently ahead, preparing himself for the challenge as he has for the past 19 years.<br /></p><p> Beckham will notice that age has not withered Giggs, barring a distinguished dash of grey around the temples, rather befitting his statesman's position in the game. The physique remains whippet-lean and, when the game springs into life, Giggs' desire for the ball, for attacking and for victory will be as strong as Beckham remembered it. </p> <p> It is in this moment, as the Stretford End sings "Giggs, Giggs will tear you apart again'' that Beckham may fully realise the magnitude of the decision he took in 2003, swapping the red of United for the white of Real Madrid. Perhaps he had to go. A tension gripped the dressing-room. Sir Alex Ferguson had grown concerned over the player's celebrity lifestyle in the wake of his marriage to Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice. </p> <p> In truth, Beckham's dedication to his vocation was never in question. </p> <p> Assigned to shadow the couple as they went out for a meal, one reporter checked with a restaurant what they had consumed. Their choices were fish (no sauce) and mineral water (still). Not much of a scoop. Not even of ice cream. </p> <p> Beckham kept himself incredibly fit and never complained about being dropped. When called upon by Ferguson in the Champions League against, of all people, Madrid, he responded with a bravura cameo display, almost nicking the tie for United. But the parting of the ways was imminent. </p> <p> Madrid's siren call was irresistible. The glamour of the Bernabeu is undeniable and Beckham has always been drawn to glamour. Financially, the transfer lifted him to another level. Brand Beckham would be enhanced globally. </p> <p> And yet. As play gets under way at Old Trafford on March 10, United's old No 7 may look at the ageless No 11 and think of what he's missed out on. </p> <p> Since Beckham took up his globe-trotting, first with Madrid and now with this strange time-share arrangement between Milan and LA Galaxy, Giggs has collected another Champions League trophy, three more Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, three Community Shields and a Fifa Club World Cup. The Welsh winger is the current PFA Player of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year. </p> <p> Beckham has also been honoured by Auntie's viewers, back in 2001 following that unforgettable goal against Greece at Old Trafford, but his haul post-United is singularly modest. After four years with Madrid, he eventually won La Liga. His recall by Fabio Capello against Real Sociedad on Feb 10 2007 undoubtedly gave Real impetus, pushing them closer to Barcelona. </p> <p> Yet the trophy was secured only in the final game against Mallorca when Beckham was removed and Jose Antonio Reyes sent on to rescue Real. </p> <p> Only the churlish would forget the 2003 Spanish Super Cup and the 2009 MLS Western Conference title, hardly heavyweight but baubles nonetheless. </p> <p> Otherwise the trophy trail has gone cold for Beckham since turning his back on United. He has gained millions more in wealth, not to mention eight more tattoos, but nothing compared to the sporting riches Giggs has amassed. </p> <p> So for all the joy that Beckham understandably feels at the thought of running out on Old Trafford's famous pitch again, Giggs stands as a reminder that the grass is not always greener. This is no style-versus-substance debate. Beckham has enough talent and commitment. He simply chose a different path to Giggs, the wrong one if his ambition was more glory. </p> <p> Giggs also endured tricky times at Old Trafford but never had Beckham's wander-lust. He fought for his place, won over the terrace critics, remodelled his game intelligently and is now a national treasure. </p> <p> In an era when television can make anyone famous for 15 minutes, Giggs' constancy is even more special. So whither Beckham? Is the man from Hollywood simply disappearing down sunset boulevard? He will be a bit-part player for England in the summer. </p> <p> Having shown a capacity for writing his own headlines, particularly in the early years, Beckham will desperately want to script an Indian summer to his club career. </p> <p> First, he must force his way into the Milan team. If Andrea Pirlo is untouchable as the deep-lying tempo-setter in Leonardo's three-man midfield, then the loan-star from LA must compete with Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini. Each will respond vigorously to the Englishman's challenge. </p> <p> With Ronaldinho or Clarence Seedorf providing the central attacking thrust towards Alexandre Pato and Marco Borriello, there seems no room for Beckham further forward either. Now that would be embarrassing: Beckham emerging from the tunnel, waving to the United supporters and then heading for the bench as Giggs continues on to the field, continues rolling back the years. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-80288527332002031852009-12-15T22:08:00.001+00:002009-12-15T22:10:36.549+00:00Liverpool a club divided under Rafael Benitez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SygJO9PR--I/AAAAAAAAAJg/8_xQIcCr8eA/s1600-h/rafa4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SygJO9PR--I/AAAAAAAAAJg/8_xQIcCr8eA/s200/rafa4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415588704474495970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Rafael Benítez's reign at Liverpool has seen the Anfield club split into those who support the Spanish manager, and those who have lost faith in him.<br /> </span><br />Their faith tested, their belief exposed and their dogma unravelled, Liverpool’s owners, directors, staff, players and fans find themselves for the first time in more than two years united as one, driven on to their knees in prayer. <p> “It is going to be a grind between now and May,” said Jamie Carragher, epitome of the concrete certainty imbued in the club over five years by manager Rafael Benítez and shattered in less than five weeks, “but we have got to stick together, get through it and, as I’m doing, pray to God that at the end of the season there will be something worthwhile for what we’ve gone through.”<br /></p><p> Even the almighty, though, might shy away from trying to unify the fractured, battered and bruised morass at Anfield. From boardroom to stands, from dressing room to directors’ box, few managers in football divide opinion as completely as Benítez. </p> <p> There are those who would back the mastermind behind the miracle of Istanbul to the hilt, the Rafaelites, and those who see the studious, perfectionist, wilful enigma as myth, a man who has never truly adapted his style to the peculiar demands of the English game in pursuit of the holiest of grails which has eluded Liverpool for 20 long years. </p> <p> It is a schism which has paralysed the club. Anfield is consumed by inertia, condemned to six months with nothing to play for, nothing to pray for, but an end to its purgatory, and the solitude of summer.<strong> </strong> </p> <p><br /><strong>THE RAFAELITES </strong> </p> <p> <strong>Owners </strong><br />The fracture at Liverpool stems from the rift between the club’s owners. Tom Hicks and George Gillett agree on little or nothing, and so dysfunctional is their relationship that one’s actions guarantee an equal and opposite reaction from the other. </p> <p> Despite teething problems in their relationship — it was comments from Hicks that triggered Benítez’s famous repetition of his job being to “focus on coaching and training my team” — it is the Texan who remains firmly entrenched behind the Spaniard. </p> <p> Hicks, once viewed as the greater of two evils by Liverpool’s fans, has earned some leeway with a succession of statements backing the manager and his position is not likely to change. </p> <p> <strong>Boardroom </strong><br />The stalemate between Hicks and Gillett spreads to the boardroom, which is where any decision on Benítez’s long-term future would be made. Liverpool’s board is comprised of Hicks, his son Tom Jnr, Gillett and his son Foster, Christian Purslow, the managing director, and Ian Ayre, the club’s commercial director. </p> <p> It is a balance which all but guarantees no majority decision is possible, unless Liverpool’s form and league position should nosedive so spectacularly that no other option were available. Benítez has played off both the Hicks and Gillett factions with the consummate ease of the skilled politician, knowing he can always count on the support of one side. </p> <p> <strong>Players </strong><br />Only two of Liverpool’s senior squad were not brought to Anfield by Benítez — even Jay Spearing, the young midfielder, was promoted to the senior team under his supervision — and it is not surprising that the vast majority of the players remain loyal. </p> <p> Even among those ranks, though, Benítez faces problems. Javier Mascherano remains unsettled in England for personal reasons, while Ryan Babel and Andrea Dossena have both made public their dissatisfaction with bit-part roles in a World Cup year. </p> <p> <strong>Fans</strong><br />Even those fans who had begun to question Benítez’s abilities had fallen silent after Liverpool’s stunning recovery to run Manchester United to the wire in last season’s title race. </p> <p> Much of that patience, though, has ebbed away, despite a significant proportion of Liverpool’s support believing Benítez cannot be judged by the standards which are set for him. </p> <p> He has spent only what he has brought in through sales since the summer of 2007, Liverpool boast just the fifth highest wage bill in the league, and yet he is expected to keep pace with some of the world’s richest clubs. </p> <p> The Spaniard, it is suggested, is doing as well as any of the handful of managers designated his superiors would in the same circumstances. </p> <p> <strong>THE ANTI-RAFAELITES </strong> </p> <p> <strong>Owners </strong>Benítez insists publicly that his relations with both of his American overlords remain cordial, but it is believed the saga over Jürgen Klinsmann – who was touted as a possible replacement – led to the irretrievable breakdown of his relationship with Gillett. </p> <p> It was Gillett who, most recently, spoke out in support of the manager, but a conversation the Colorado-based businessman held with a representative of Spirit of Shankly, the fans’ group, and heard by The Daily Telegraph, in which Gillett laid the blame for all footballing failures squarely at Benítez’s door, offers a more realistic assessment of the situation. </p> <p> <strong>Boardroom </strong><br />While the board’s paralysis provides Benítez’s greatest strength, it could also be said to be his greatest weakness. The Spaniard can never enjoy the full support of the club while one half of the body which controls his future remains aligned against him. </p> <p> His only refuge, then, may be in the stark financial reality of his dismissal. He would be due at least £5 million if Liverpool did decide to sack him, but that would most likely be trebled should he pursue a lawsuit, as he did at Valencia, or decide not to work in the foreseeable future. The fact that succeeding him, at a club laden with debt even if Purslow can secure a £100 million cash injection for a 25 per cent stake, is the sharpest of double-edged swords. </p> <p> <strong>Players </strong><br />Benítez’s remarks after the defeat to Aston Villa at Anfield earlier this season - that his senior players needed to accept more responsibility - were not welcomed in some quarters, while the decision to allow Xabi Alonso to leave created a rift within the camp. </p> <p> It is often cited that Benítez is a poor man-manager, incapable of putting an arm around the shoulder of his players, and he is described in some quarters as “cold”. That may be unfair, but his treatment of players like Andriy Voronin — tasked with leading the line in a crucial Champions League tie with Lyon but cast aside since — indicate how ruthless Benítez can be. </p> <p> <strong>Fans </strong><br />Benítez has faced more vocal criticism this season than at any other point during his Anfield tenure, with an increasing number of fans seemingly convinced that he is not the man to return the club to the pinnacle of English football. </p> <p> His substitutions, on more than one occasion, have been jeered — most noticeably when removing Yossi Benayoun — while the team have been booed from the pitch after disappointing results at home to Aston Villa and Birmingham. </p> <p> His results, this season, provide the most damning assessment, though: this is a squad he constructed, bolstered by expensive players seen as little more than detritus by many, and he must therefore take responsibility for its failings. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-18722308616670558912009-12-01T21:49:00.001+00:002009-12-01T21:51:22.937+00:00Lionel Messi: A rare talent<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SxWPzr78TaI/AAAAAAAAAJU/HsD593MSOR8/s1600/LionelMessi1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SxWPzr78TaI/AAAAAAAAAJU/HsD593MSOR8/s200/LionelMessi1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410388645485759906" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="font-null"> When Pep Guardiola took over from Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona 18 months ago, Lionel Messi's favourite local steakhouse in the city's affluent Sarria-Sant Gervasi neighbourhood was right at the top of his 'to do' list. </p> <p class="font-null"> The rookie coach was under no illusions about the size of the task in front of him and the numerous issues he needed to sort out, with Messi's fitness being at the top of his agenda. </p> <p class="font-null"> Since then, Barca have won a sublime clean sweep of trophies and the diminutive Argentinian has developed from a highly-skilled one-trick pony into the world's finest and most influential player, culminating in his receipt of the coveted Ballon d'Or prize awarded to the European player of the year.<br /></p><p class="font-null"> Under the increasingly laid-back Rijkaard there had grown an element of player power that Guardiola knew was cancerous. </p> <p class="font-null"> The lack of professionalism and indiscipline of talented talismen Ronaldinho and Deco had spread dangerously, ultimately ripping apart Rijkaard's much-revered Camp Nou dynasty and threatening to do more lasting damage to their Argentinian superstar. </p> <p class="font-null"> The shy, homely Messi had naturally sought comfort in the bosom of his two team-mates and sub-consciously drifted into the clique and away from the rest of the squad. </p> <p class="font-null"> Guardiola, in his first senior managerial position, got rid of the ringleaders almost immediately. Both Ronaldinho and Deco were offloaded to AC Milan and Chelsea respectively for cut-price fees. </p> <p class="font-null"> The Catalan coach, schooled under former Barca boss Johan Cruyff, was quick to make his mark as a strict disciplinarian, imposing fines and punishments for even the slightest infringement of a new code of conduct designed to right the wrongs so regularly committed under Rijkaard. </p> <p class="font-null"> With his old mates out of the picture, Messi was 'rebuilt' under Guardiola, who forced him to interact more with all of his team-mates, to think like a leader on and off the field and to improve himself physically. </p> <p class="font-null"> Because while the humble boy from Rosario did not share Ronaldinho and Deco's reported penchant for nightclubbing until the early hours, he did share the questionable physique which had become the trio's trademark. </p> <p class="font-null"> Incredibly fussy about his food since childhood, Messi had somehow spent his career under Rijkaard - a period during which he emerged from the youth system to the pinnacle of the game - dining almost exclusively on steak and cola at his local Argentinian restaurant. </p> <p class="font-null"> Unfortunately for the modest little 'Las Cuartetas' steakhouse - a favourite with South American players from both Barca and city rivals Espanyol - Guardiola's ascension to first-team coach put a serious dent in their profits. </p> <p class="font-null"> Some of those impressed with Guardiola's magnificent first year in charge joked that weaning Messi off his unhealthy diet has been his biggest achievement. </p> <p class="font-null"> Indeed, the change in coach coincided with Messi's improved physical condition and best season to date as the Catalans won an unprecedented treble of league, cup and Champions League. </p> <p class="font-null"> Messi was already the finest dribbler in the game when Guardiola arrived, capable of awe-inspiring runs not seen since the days of his hero Diego Maradona. But as the cracks emerged in Rijkaard's once-mighty side, question marks arose about the little Argentinian's all-round game. </p> <p class="font-null"> While the twinkle toes took the plaudits and the amazing solo efforts proved as crucial as they were brilliant, observant commentators were left to question his abilities beyond that. </p> <p class="font-null"> Too often his passing was wayward, his vision seemingly extending only as far as the ball in front of him. His crosses were too infrequent and too inaccurate. His shooting was poor, with the vast majority of his goals scored from close range in one-on-one situations. His right foot was non-existent. </p> <p class="font-null"> Harsh criticism, perhaps. After all, he was close to being the best player in the world despite these supposed inadequacies. </p> <p class="font-null"> But Guardiola's arrival and obsessive attention to detail has helped Messi overtake Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's finest. </p> <p class="font-null"> His improved condition has led to his first largely injury-free season last year. His new-found tactical awareness has enabled him to flourish in the playmaker role, roaming wherever necessary to combine incredible dribbling technique with a more tangible creative spark. </p> <p class="font-null"> In the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Manchester United, Messi's performance perfectly encapsulated the problems under Rijkaard. While Barca dominated possession and he wowed Old Trafford with his effervescence on the ball, the Catalans were ultimately toothless and limped out feebly with a 1-0 aggregate defeat. </p> <p class="font-null"> The sides met again in May, this time in the Champions League final, this time with the 'new' Messi. And the little marvel duly capped a fine season with the second goal as Guardiola's team outclassed United on the night to complete their historic treble. </p> <p class="font-null"> Now, in winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or, Messi has been given the accolade his talent so clearly deserves. And there's little doubt where he will go to celebrate when he gets home. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-54501927977854680602009-11-29T19:57:00.001+00:002009-11-29T19:58:55.467+00:00Luck Finally Changes For Rafa Benitez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SxLSceNbhTI/AAAAAAAAAJM/v6CdmJUUFyc/s1600/rafa1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SxLSceNbhTI/AAAAAAAAAJM/v6CdmJUUFyc/s200/rafa1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409617489012950322" border="0" /></a>Rafa Benitez could have been forgiven in recent weeks for wondering whether he had run over a black cat or two. Liverpool have had plenty of luck this season, and most of it has been bad. <p>But if the Spaniard has had just cause to bemoan his side's ill-fortune - their injury crisis, dubious red cards, beach-ball interventions - he can surely have no issue with Lady Luck this afternoon as the Reds overcame a spirited, but ultimately ill-fated, Everton side.</p> <p>On a day when Henry Winkler - aka The Fonz - was in town, it was always likely to be cool heads which prevailed in the November wind and rain at Goodison Park, and in the end it proved the case. The Reds kept their shape, their composure, and their heads, but boy did they ride their luck.</p> <p>That is not to say there was no marked improvement in the Reds' performance, there was. The defence picked up its first Premier League clean sheet on the road this season, with Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina in particular shining. Everton are a tough team to play against, and Liverpool coped admirably.</p> <p>In midfield Lucas Leiva recovered from an inauspicious start to turn in a stellar display alongside the back-to-his-best Javier Mascherano, whilst Dirk Kuyt ended his eight-game scoring drought in the best possible manner, wrapping up the points late on with a poacher's effort. The relief in the Dutchman's celebration was transparent.</p> <p>Mascherano's opener, deflected heftily off the boot of Joseph Yobo, was the first sign that Liverpool's luck was turning. The Argentine's speculative effort was heading well wide before striking the Nigerian, and David Moyes was left cursing two disallowed goals for Jo before half-time - although both decisions were correct.</p><p>Everton clearly had a game plan to bombard Liverpool aerially. The presence and power of Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini was exploited to the full, as blue shirts launched ball after ball into a crowded Reds box.</p> <p>But despite the pressure, and it was constant, Carragher &amp; Co stood firm. There were some lapses - a free header afforded to Cahill which forced Reina into a magnificent double-save from the Australian and Fellaini - but for a change Liverpool got away with them. It hasn't happened in recent weeks.</p> <p>At the other end, the Reds always looked likely to grab a second, without ever applying any sort of concerted pressure. Steven Gerrard endured an off-day as Everton's fans went to town on the Liverpool captain, whilst David Ngog was well shackled by Yobo and Sylvain Distin.</p> <p>But when your luck is in, it is really in. Albert Riera had been on the field for just two minutes when his skimming low strike was pushed out by Tim Howard straight to the lurking Kuyt, who made no mistake. It was tough on Everton, but Liverpool cared not.</p> <p>The win, of course, has further ramifications for both sides. Everton now sit just three points, and two places, above the drop zone, and need a change in fortune quickly.</p> <p>Liverpool meanwhile, kept their promise to bounce back from their Champions League exit in midweek. The win, coupled with draws for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham, propels them firmly back into the race for a top-four position.</p> <p>Rafa Benitez has already said this week that he is "one hundred per cent sure" that Liverpool can finish fourth this season. With Lady Luck back in her red shirt, it would be wise to listen to the Spaniard.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-64861715642430816242009-11-25T10:05:00.004+00:002009-11-25T10:12:09.618+00:00Exit leaves Benitez to beg, sell or borrow in January<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Sw0B5yLeBmI/AAAAAAAAAJE/d6b_8dXD0vg/s1600/rafa-benitez.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Sw0B5yLeBmI/AAAAAAAAAJE/d6b_8dXD0vg/s200/rafa-benitez.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407980819775882850" border="0" /></a><span>After the elimination, the calculations. The timing for Liverpool of an exit from the tournament that has defined them during Rafael Benitez's tenure is dreadful, as the club prepare to step up efforts in the next six months to sell a 25 per cent share of the business in return for a £100m cash injection. </span> <p class="font-null">That process is under way – there are interested parties – but the "sell" to prospective investors is that Liverpool are among Europe's elite, the footballing equivalent to a FTSE blue-chip company. Europa League football doesn't do much for that particular brand image.<br /></p><p class="font-null">A run through to the latter stages of the Champions League would of course have brought huge riches, but the short-term financial consequences of Fiorentina's result in Stadio Artemio Franchi are actually quite bearable. Liverpool had budgeted only to progress as far as the last 16 in the Champions League this season, and the club calculated the lost earnings of not making it that far at around £2.6m. If Liverpool play three two-leg ties in the Europa League campaign next spring, they would expect to earn around £3m and therefore be £400,000 ahead of their budgeted European earnings for this season. </p><p class="font-null">So the junior trophy does have its benefits, as Werder Bremen discovered last season, by earning more money by winning the Uefa Cup than Bayern Munich did in reaching the Champions League quarter-finals. </p><p class="font-null">But last night's turn of events can only damage Benitez when it comes to the substantial investment in players he needs. With Liverpool carrying debts of £250m, and with the stalled stadium project in need of another £400m, there will be little transfer market activity around Anfield in January – loan deals to reinforce in defence and for a back-up striker are likely – and Benitez is probably looking at a zero net spend in the summer. </p><p class="font-null">It also leaves him to face what always looked like the real battle once Liverpool's draw in Lyons left the Spaniard needing a "miracle": a top-four finish to restore Liverpool's credibility and their place in the continental elite. Though the conservative business model being put before prospective investors is understood to budget for a fifth place for Liverpool in the Premier League, even the baseline estimate of not making the Champions League for the first time since the 2003-04 season is put at £8m-10m by the club. And then there is the symbolic significance of, say, Manchester City, eclipsing them. </p><p class="font-null">Liverpool's slide has come at a time of genuine optimism around Anfield that a solution to the fundamental source of the club's brittle financial state – the global financial crisis and its effect on Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who had to pay back a further £60m to their lenders last summer – is at hand. The new managing director Christian Purslow has also helped cease the civil war between Hicks and George Gillett and is leading the search for one or more equity holders, which the Americans signed up to as part of the refinancing of their loans last summer. </p><p class="font-null">If investors do arrive, then Liverpool will be in a position to kickstart plans to get the stadium built. The vastly improved match-day revenues would mean Liverpool could then compete financially. </p><p class="font-null">But the nightmare scenario is no deal being struck with new partners. Everton's unsuccessful search for a new owner has revealed that the "middle market" is not buoyant, which is why Liverpool know they must remain blue chip. It is also why the battle for fourth place, which recommences at Goodison on Sunday is the real one. Little wonder Jamie Carragher said that the significance of Liverpool's evening here was to "get confidence and get the team playing well again because we've got a big game at the weekend against Everton". Carragher might not be a financier but, not for the first time where his beloved club is concerned, he's the one who knows the score.</p><p class="font-null"><b>European returns: What Reds could win</b></p><p class="font-null">The prize money for reaching:</p><p class="font-null">Last 16 Champions League £2.7m, Europa League £270,000.</p><p class="font-null">Quarter-finals Champions League £2.9m, Europa League £319,000.</p><p class="font-null">Semi-finals Champions League £3.6m, Europa League £558,000.</p><p class="font-null">Final Champions League £4.6m, Europa League £1.77m.</p><p class="font-null">Winners Champions League £8m, Europa League £2.65m.</p><p class="font-null"><i>This list does not include television revenue</i></p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-69422106303057007132009-11-15T15:13:00.001+00:002009-11-15T15:15:24.011+00:00Kaka: Real Madrid was the right choice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SwAa_qxqooI/AAAAAAAAAI8/lOo-i1mMsus/s1600-h/Kaka_real+madrid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 120px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SwAa_qxqooI/AAAAAAAAAI8/lOo-i1mMsus/s200/Kaka_real+madrid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404349233961280130" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.goal.com/en/people/brazil/49/kak%C3%A1"></a>Kaka has admitted that he has no regrets about not joining Manchester City after going on to secure a transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer.<br /><br />The Brazilian star was the subject of a €100 million bid from the Premier League's nouveau riche side, but rejected the chance to move to Eastlands in January.<br /><br />While reports suggested that AC Milan's willingness to listen to City's offer hurt their relationship with Kaka, the Brazilian is now delighted to be plying his trade in Spain.<br /><br />Real Madrid paid €67 million to land their man after Florentino Perez resumed control at the Santiago Bernabeu and the player is happy with his choice.<br /><br />"Do I regret not moving to Manchester City? No. I am happy with what I have chosen in my life," he told reporters after Brazil's win against England.<br /><br />"I've spoken a lot to Robinho and he is very happy there and Manchester City have bought a lot of quality players.<br /><br />"But now I am with Real Madrid and very happy with the choice I made. I have no regrets with my decision."The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-15319458072208008632009-11-07T19:24:00.002+00:002009-11-07T19:25:30.412+00:00Rafa Benitez is victim of a witch-hunt against foreign managers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SvXJnvYbGdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/Uw4arTFU8OQ/s1600-h/Benitez-Rafa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SvXJnvYbGdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/Uw4arTFU8OQ/s200/Benitez-Rafa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401445012671764946" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Last autumn it was the turn of Juande Ramos to be burnt at the stake.</p><p>Well, Avram Grant's corpse had been licked clean, so we needed a new heretic. By Christmas Phil Scolari was sitting on the ducking school. Come the summer, when Arsene Wenger sold two stars to Manchester City, he was dragged into the stocks. And now Rafa Benitez lays on the rack, flames licking around his tootsies.</p><p>That's a recent history of managerial witch-hunts at the top of the Premier League, and few would shed a tear for the highly-paid men involved. </p><p>But spot the link. They're all foreign. A co-incidence? Maybe. But did you hear the one about the Englishman, the Irishman and the Welshman?</p><p>Let me fill you in. Harry Redknapp, Martin O'Neill and Mark Hughes spent the summer flashing the cash at big clubs and went into the season as the men most likely to break into the top four.</p><p>Things started well and plaudits and flattery flowed. But then mediocrity set in as they fell behind Stoke, Burnley and Bolton in the form table.</p><p>Taken over the last six Premier League games the top four are the same top four these three men were supposed to be breaking up (Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool). Hughes's Manchester City are 11th with seven points, Redknapp's Spurs are 13th with seven points and O'Neill's Aston Villa lie a lamentable 16th on six points. Yet the calls for burning stakes and ducking stools are not audible. Not a peep of criticism is in the air.</p><p>In the past three transfer windows Hughes has spent almost £200 million. Harry Redknapp's bench is littered with £10 million-plus signings. And Martin O'Neill is now into his fourth season at a very well-funded Aston Villa, but has made as much impression on English football as a wet bottom-belch in a tornado.</p><p>Yet the Englishman, the Irishman and the Welshman, escape any censure for a dismal slump in form. Were they foreigners, you can guarantee that by now, the usual suspects would be asking questions about their suitability to hack it in the cut-and-thrust of English football.</p><p>I'm not saying all three deserve to be pilloried. Hughes earns a wide berth because he's been ordered to assimilate too many big talents too quickly and Redknapp because he's only a year into his job.</p><p>But O'Neill? Aston Villa's league form throughout this year has been pitiful, yet he remains the Harry Houdini of criticism. </p><p>He's had as many seasons at Villa as Claudio Ranieri had at Chelsea. A foreigner ridiculed as a flawed, under-performing Tinkerman. But Ranieri's record of wining 53% of his games, finishing Premier League runners-up, reaching an FA Cup Final and Champions League semi-final, trounces O'Neill's record of winning only 40% of his games and achieving nothing.</p><p>The point is, we are far more critical of foreign managers than our own. We dislike them for taking our own men's jobs, are suspicious of their pedigree and methods, give far more scrutiny to any foreign players they sign, and far less credit for their achievements. In short we want them to fail.</p><p>And when the pressure is on, unlike the 'Arrys and Martins they don't have the loyalty of ex-pros to fall back on, or the protection of pundits they've shared TV couches with.</p><p>The motto is, if you want a manager who escapes a depressing and destabilising witch-hunt, get yourself a Brit or an Irishman.</p><p>The rider being, that unless his name is Alex Ferguson, chances are, he'll win you sod all.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-40246361191261778632009-11-04T11:42:00.001+00:002009-11-04T11:43:42.698+00:00Antonio Valencia emerging from Cristiano Ronaldo's shadow at Man United<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SvFo3DycHaI/AAAAAAAAAIs/p1vCTP8Bubs/s1600-h/valencia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SvFo3DycHaI/AAAAAAAAAIs/p1vCTP8Bubs/s200/valencia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400212723312893346" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Three down, 23 to go. That may be a harsh challenge for Antonio Valencia at Manchester United, but having walked through the door at Old Trafford just as Cristiano Ronaldo was heading the other way, the Ecuadorian will never escape the comparisons.</p> <p>Sixteen games into his United career and the £17m summer signing from Wigan took his goals tally to three with the injury-time equaliser against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.</p> <p>The more impressive statistic is that the goal was Valencia’s third in five games. It shows he is beginning to adjust to life at United, despite the shadow cast by Ronaldo.</p> <p>Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted often enough that Ronaldo is, and will continue to be, irreplaceable. Sixty-eight goals in his final two seasons at the club – the second of which was delayed for almost two months by an ankle injury – just underlines the impossible task facing whichever poor soul is asked to fill Ronaldo’s old right-wing spot at United.</p> <p>Nani has tried and failed, Ji-sung Park offers ninety minutes of energy, but little attacking threat, while Gabriel Obertan is no more than three games into his United career.</p> <p>Just try for a minute to erase the Ronaldo era and imagine it never happened. Who would Valencia then be measured against in terms of his progress?</p> <p>David Beckham perhaps? Andrei Kanchelskis? Whoever you choose as the yardstick, the challenge is not quite so great as matching Ronaldo.</p> <p>Beckham’s work-rate, peerless crossing and ability from set-pieces put ‘Goldenballs’ in a league of his own before Real Madrid came calling in 2003.</p> <p>Kanchelskis was a lethal winger with blistering pace and an incredible ability to convert chances in front of goal. His hat-trick in a 5-0 demolition of Manchester City in 1994 encapsulated his quality and his controversial departure for Everton in 1995 was mourned by thousands of United supporters.</p> <p>One thing that is obvious is that Valencia has a list of illustrious predecessors at United. But having initially appeared cowed and inhibited during his early outings for Ferguson’s team, Valencia is now growing into the role.</p> <p>He is forming an understanding with full-backs Gary Neville and John O’Shea down the right and his crossing has improved markedly in the space of three months.</p> <p>Valencia is brave, he has genuine strength and the confidence generated by his first goal for United – against Bolton last month – has lifted him onto another level.</p> <p>The 24-year-old managed just seven goals in three seasons with Wigan, but he is almost halfway to that total at United. He even ‘did a Ronaldo’ by rescuing United with a spectacular late equaliser against CSKA.</p> <p>But don’t compare him to Ronaldo. Don’t compare him to Beckham or Kanchelskis either. He is developing quickly in a United shirt and there is a sense that he is well on the way to making his own name at Old Trafford.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-27876192849184340302009-10-25T23:06:00.002+00:002009-10-25T23:07:49.601+00:00Fernando Torres beats Ferdinand for speed to lift Anfield gloom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SuTaMF6nAyI/AAAAAAAAAIk/hT4rHBU9L3Q/s1600-h/fernandotorresbite_liverpool+vs+man+united.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SuTaMF6nAyI/AAAAAAAAAIk/hT4rHBU9L3Q/s200/fernandotorresbite_liverpool+vs+man+united.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396678154777985826" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-weight: bold;">An eternal fascination of games between elite clubs is that sometimes they come down to a duel between two world-class players. For all the sound and fury here, Liverpool and Manchester were prised apart when Fernando Torres went mano e mano with Rio Ferdinand and blasted a goal that blew away the depression settling over Anfield.</p><p>Bringing <em>El Niño</em> to Merseyside was the best piece of business <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/rafael-benitez"></a>Rafael Benítez is ever likely to conduct. Not that joy ever shows on the martinet's face. After Torres had beaten Ferdinand for speed and strength to breach Edwin van der Sar's goal in the 65th minute Benítez merely flicked his hand to convey a tactical signal to another Liverpool player and then glanced at his watch, perhaps to make sure he had turned it back an hour. This austere, dispassionate response concealed the scale of Torres's contribution to the manager's survival campaign in the wake of four consecutive defeats.</p><p>As Benítez said later: "Eighty per cent of Fernando can make the difference." The other 20% was still in a physiotherapy room. Torres had not trained properly all week. He missed the midweek Champions League defeat against Lyon and seemed unlikely to haul himself back into action for such a frenetic and physical encounter. On the coach on the way to Anfield Benítez gambled, mindful maybe that the alternatives were Andriy Voronin, Dirk Kuyt or David Ngog, who raised his lowly profile with his team's second, deep into added time.</p><p>Liverpool's alternative motto: Find a corner, then fight your way out. Their almost clinical need for adversity is baffling. A fifth defeat would have matched the club's worst sequence since 1953. "Playing as a team and working hard the way Liverpool do, we can beat anyone," Torres said. A player of such lavish gifts is entitled to sprinkle a bit more poetry into his post-match comments. But the foundation of all Liverpool's efforts is defiance and even Torres reflects that spirit. He can have a war with you or beat you with beauty. This volcanic derby required him to do both.</p><p>By the end arguably the world's best centre-forward could hardly stand. His body trembled with exhaustion and his eyes called out for him to be rescued. After 80 minutes he was replaced by Ngog. The ovation rocked the stadium: a sharp counterpoint to the venom directed at <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/michael-owen"></a>Michael Owen, once of this parish. "Judas, traitor, Manc," they howled, then chanted "Once a Manc, never a Red."</p><p>In such a febrile atmosphere no allowance was going to be made for the fact that Owen would have returned to Anfield on several occasions since his move to Real Madrid but was not pursued and might have finished up at Stoke or Hull had United not offered him work when his Newcastle contract expired. The denunciation of Owen in an arena where he once performed the Torres role was so fierce that Wayne Rooney made a point of consoling him as Sir Alex Ferguson's men traipsed off.</p><p>Ferguson ruminated on "the wounded animal aspect" of Liverpool's tenacious performance. "We had to win to get back in the title race," Torres beamed. For every reveller there is a victim. Somewhere deep in hostile territory Ferdinand would have been agonising over the private battle he lost when Yossi Benayoun, the closest this Liverpool squad have to a Steve McManaman, collected the ball from Kuyt and slipped it down the inside-right channel to bring Torres into combat with the England centre-half.</p><p>There was, in Ferdinand's heavy-footed response to this threat, another hint that he mistrusts his body and lacks the pace and agility to smother all forms of danger, as he can in his pomp. Torres was quicker and more robust as the two reputations came together. As Ferdinand leaned and lagged, Torres composed himself and had time to thump his shot into Van der Sar's top left-hand corner. The Kop is known for its eruptions of pleasure, belligerence, relief and this one will pass into the top-10 goal celebrations of Benítez's uneven reign.</p><p>Torres has now scored 34 goals in 35 league games at Anfield. Tormenting United's central defenders is one of his favourite pastimes. Though Ngog later put the game beyond Liverpool, there is no question that industry and organisation alone would not have brought them victory without the brilliance their £26m striker brings to the forward areas.</p><p>Frankly, without him, Liverpool are a severely diminished force. It was a measure of Benítez's desperation that he had to risk him when he "was not 100% fit". On Tuesday Steven Gerrard limped off against Lyon. Gamble failed. This time it worked. Kuyt (last weekend at Sunderland) and Ngog (against Lyon) had demonstrated the paucity of Liverpool's resources in the striking department. Whether internal politics or lack of foresight is responsible, the front of this team has been mismanaged and Liverpool's chances of sustaining this revival hang on Torres's ability to stay sound in a league that has caused him to be increasingly grumpy and querulous under the weight of incoming challenges.</p><p>He may resent the philistines who knock him about and the referees who sometimes fail to protect him but sheer force of talent always carries him to the heart of the drama, where his athleticism and grace usually do the rest.</p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-52695488408008146032009-10-18T21:36:00.001+01:002009-10-18T21:39:37.175+01:00Manchester United's poor play provoked Alan Wiley criticism, says Sir Alex Ferguson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Stt82GhyK3I/AAAAAAAAAIc/zloIfukU42Q/s1600-h/alex+wiley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Stt82GhyK3I/AAAAAAAAAIc/zloIfukU42Q/s200/alex+wiley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394042247613393778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Sir Alex Ferguson claims his anger at Manchester United’s performance against Sunderland two weeks ago prompted his stinging criticism of referee Alan Wiley, which has left the Scot facing an FA charge. </span><br /><br />Ferguson accused Staffordshire official Wiley, 49, of taking thirty seconds to book players as he ‘needed a rest’ and also suggested that he was not fit enough to referee a game at Premier League level. <p> The United manager has since apologised publicly for his comments and a letter explaining his remarks was received by the FA on Friday.<br /></p><p> His apology was dismissed as ‘half-hearted’ by referees’ union chief Alan Leighton and Ferguson is still facing a fine and possible touchline ban. The FA are expected to charge him with improper conduct on Monday. </p> <p> But in his programme notes prior to United’s Old Trafford clash against Bolton on Saturday, Ferguson claimed that his referee rant was due to his frustration at a poor performance by his players. </p> <p> Ferguson said: “We got out of jail in the final seconds for a 2-2 draw (against Sunderland) but frankly we had an off day. </p> <p> “We kept going and we had a bit of luck with our late equaliser. We certainly weren’t firing on all cylinders in that game. </p> <p> “Our passing was quite out of character which is perhaps why my feelings afterwards got the better of me with regard to the referee. </p> <p> “I felt later that it was fair to apologise. I hope he has accepted my apology because I have always respected Alan Wiley, who is a good referee, and my remarks were not intended to be a slur on his integrity. </p> <p> “By the time you read this (programme notes), I hope I shall have had the opportunity to speak to him personally after taking a break in the States.” </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-16414532579752991702009-10-08T19:58:00.002+01:002009-10-08T20:01:14.313+01:00What exactly is the Premier League’s ‘fit and proper person’ test?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Ss42xLdSdWI/AAAAAAAAAIU/sxHPtXFBkGg/s1600-h/flavio-briatore.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/Ss42xLdSdWI/AAAAAAAAAIU/sxHPtXFBkGg/s200/flavio-briatore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390306022526186850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">The influx of foreign owners into the Football and Premier League and uncertainty over who actually owns Leeds United and Notts County, as well as doubts over Flavio Briatore’s involvement with QPR, has brought the ‘fit and proper person’ test in to focus. But what is it? </span><br /><br />The ‘fit and proper persons test’ was first introduced in 2004 as a way of safeguarding clubs against falling in to the ownership of unscrupulous owners, with nothing in place before that time to stop those previously convicted of offences such as fraud from buying and running clubs. <p> Rules were established jointly between the Premier League<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/"><strong></strong></a>, Football League and the Football Conference that any prospective director of a football club or someone looking to buy over 30 per cent of the club’s shares needed to satisfy.<br /></p><p> The details of the test are myriad but the most important points forbid anyone with unspent criminal convictions relating to acts of dishonesty or someone who has taken a football club in to administration twice from taking charge of a football club. </p> <p> The only person currently known to have fallen foul of the restrictions is Dennis Coleman, who as director of Rotherham United was responsible for twice taking the Yorkshire club into administration. </p> <p> The exact criteria vary between the Premier League and the Football League after government pressure saw the former tighten up it’s rules while those of the latter remain in their 2004 form. However, the Football League’s chairman, Lord Mawhinney is seeking to correct this imbalance, in agreement with other interested football bodies. </p> <p> The Premier League now asks members to publicly declare the names of anyone who owns over 10 per cent of the club. The Football League asks for names of owners of clubs but does not currently make them public. The Premier League also seeks assurances about where money is coming from to fund a club. </p> <p> An important difference remains that the Premier League applies the test before a takeover is approved whereas the Football League garners information only after a deal has gone through. </p> <p> <strong>Premier League fit and proper person test – disqualifying events in full</strong>: </p> <p> A person shall be disqualified from acting as a director and no club shall be permitted to have any person acting as a director of that club if: </p> <ul class="storylist"><li>Either directly or indirectly he is involved in or has any power to determine or influence the management or administration of another club or Football League club </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>Either directly or indirectly he holds or acquires any Significant Interest in a club while he either directly or indirectly holds any interest in any class of shares of another club </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>He becomes prohibited by law from being a director </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>He is convicted on indictment of an offence set out in the Appendix 12 Schedule of Offences or he is convicted of a like offence by a competent court having jurisdiction outside England and Wales </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>He makes an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or becomes the subject of an Interim Bankruptcy Restriction Order, a Bankruptcy Restriction Order or a Bankruptcy Order </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>He is a director of a club which, while he has been a director of it, has suffered two or more unconnected events of insolvency </li></ul> <ul class="storylist"><li>He has been a director of two or more clubs or clubs each of which, while he has been a director of them, has suffered an Event of Insolvency. </li></ul> <p> <strong>Schedule of offences</strong>: </p> <ul class="storylist"><li>Conspiracy to defraud: Criminal Justice Act 1987, section 12<br />Conspiracy to defraud: Common Law<br />Corrupt transactions with (public) agents, corruptly accepting consideration: Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, section 1<br />Insider dealing: Criminal Justice Act 1993, sections 52 and 61<br />Public servant soliciting or accepting a gift: Public Bodies (Corrupt Practices) Act 1889, section 1<br />Theft: Theft Act 1968, section 1<br />Obtaining by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 15<br />Obtaining a money transfer by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 15A + B<br />Obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 16<br />False accounting: Theft Act 1968, section 17<br />False statements by Company Directors: Theft Act 1968, section 19<br />Suppression of (company) documents: Theft Act 1968, section 20<br />Retaining a wrongful credit: Theft Act 1968, section 24A<br />Obtaining services by deception: Theft Act 1978, section 1<br />Evasion of liability by deception: Theft Act 1978, section 2<br />Cheating the Public Revenue/Making false statements tending to defraud the public revenue: Common Law<br />Punishment for fraudulent training: Companies Act 1985, section 458<br />Penalty for fraudulent evasion of duty etc: Customs &amp; Excise Management Act 1979, section 170<br />Fraudulent evasion of VAT: Value Added Tax Act 1994 section 72<br />Person subject to a Banning order (as defined) : Football (Disorder) Act 2000, Schedule 1<br />Forgery: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1<br />Copying a false instrument : Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 2<br />Using a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 3<br />Using a copy of a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 4<br />Cheating the Public Revenue/ Making false statements tending to defraud the public revenue: Common Law<br />Punishment for fraudulent training: Companies Act 1985, section 458<br />Penalty for fraudulent evasion of duty etc: Customs &amp; Excise Management Act 1979, section 170<br />Fraudulent evasion of VAT: Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 72<br />Person subject to a Banning order (as defined): Football (Disorder) Act 2000, Schedule 1<br />Forgery: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1<br />Copying a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 2<br />Using a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 3<br />Using a copy of a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 4 </li></ul>Source: The TelegraphThe Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-2079104007765465252009-10-03T23:33:00.002+01:002009-10-03T23:35:47.674+01:00Can Seville crash Galacticos' party at top of La Liga?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SsfRsZMCyiI/AAAAAAAAAIM/M3DprpKEaX0/s1600-h/seville.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SsfRsZMCyiI/AAAAAAAAAIM/M3DprpKEaX0/s200/seville.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388506039777937954" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="font-null"> Cristiano Ronaldo's scintillating start to his Real Madrid career has left the club's supporters doing some simple maths – nine goals in seven games so that's 81 for the season if he keeps up his current scoring rate. </p> <p class="font-null"> Tomorrow's visit to Seville might serve to rein in the euphoria – Manolo Jimenez's side lie third in La Liga and are promising to gatecrash the two-team title race between Real and Barcelona. </p> <p class="font-null"> Largely because of Ronaldo's efforts, Real Madrid are the only team in Europe's major leagues to have won all their league and Champions League games and have out-scored the rest of the continent with 24 goals. President Florentino Perez told Spain's Barcelona-supporting prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, as much this week as the pair were caught talking football by Spanish TV when they should have been pushing Madrid's Olympic bid. </p> <p class="font-null"> "We are the only team in Europe to have won all our games," began Perez. "I'm not going to tell you that there is another team playing very well," responded Zapatero. "But they have drawn," said Perez. And when Zapatero fired back with, "But they play very well," Perez said: "They play well but we don't need that... this year our time has come." </p> <p class="font-null"> It was a feisty exchange that assumes only Barcelona and Real Madrid will contest the league. However, Jimenez disagrees. "It is not just about Madrid and Barça," he said. There is a long way to go and having a World Cup at the end of it also influences things." </p> <p class="font-null"> Seville will be hoping Ronaldo has the World Cup on his mind with the Portugal international away on qualifying duty as soon as tomorrow night's six-pointer at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium is finished. </p> <p class="font-null"> The team that rattled four past Rangers in midweek in the Champions League will be a tough test for Ronaldo, who should overcome an ankle injury to start what, on paper, is Real's most difficult fixture of the season after the games against Barcelona. </p> <p class="font-null"> "They are capable of losing possession," Jimenez said. "They are still a new side and the understanding is not always there but they look very well balanced. They are not playing as badly as people are saying." </p> <p class="font-null"> Those people would be Real supporters who, despite the side's great start, are anxious to see their team match the mesmerising football produced by Barcelona, who face Almeria at home tonight. Barça sweep you off your feet, with Real Madrid it is more clinical, but Real's former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso believes the aesthetics will come with time. </p> <p class="font-null"> He said: "As far as results go we can't ask for more but we are still working to reach a level where the play matches the result. We are not completely satisfied with how we are playing. There is plenty of room for improvement and we know it's important to not just win but to play well." </p> <p class="font-null"> Tomorrow night three points will suffice leaving them six clear of Seville, who will have striker Alvaro Negredo out to make Real regret for letting him go in the summer. With Karim Benzema signed from Lyons, there was no room for the home-grown striker who has already scored twice in the league for his new team. </p> <p class="font-null"> Seville have no first-choice players out injured while Madrid will give Ronaldo's ankle a late test. The Seville winger Jesus Navas said: "He is a fantastic player and it will be a shame if he cannot play." Jimenez was slightly more honest: "Sincerely, I hope he is out. Then after Sunday let him have a great season." </p> <p class="font-null"> <b>Spotlight on... </b><i>The early-season crises at Atletico and Milan</i> </p> <p class="font-null"> Milan and Atletico Madrid are both expected to sack their managers this weekend if they fail to win and if Atletico fire coach Abel Resino it could even spell a surprise return to Spain for Juande Ramos. </p> <p class="font-null"> Resino is clinging on with his side in the bottom three ahead of tonight's home game against Real Zaragoza. Jermaine Pennant should start for Zaragoza and if they take even just a point then Resino is likely to go. Atletico want the former Seville, Tottenham and Real Madrid coach Ramos, who would welcome a move back to Spain but could struggle to free himself from his CSKA Moscow contract before December. Another former Real Madrid coach, Bernd Schuster, and the one-time Spain manager Luis Aragones are other options. Both are former Atletico players and Aragones won La Liga with them in 1977 as manager. Schuster is friends with the Atletico owner, Gil Marin, and is favourite to step in if the club cannot get Ramos. </p> <p class="font-null"> At Milan, Brazilian coach Leonardo, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, has picked up just eight points from his first six games in charge and a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League at home to Zurich has left owner Silvio Berlusconi's hand hovering over the trap-door lever. Former Netherlands coach and Milan legend Marco van Basten has been tipped to take over but another ex-player, Alessandro Costacurta, has also emerged as a serious candidate. </p> <p class="font-null"> <b>They're all talking about... </b><i>Real Madrid's record shirt sponsorship deal</i> </p> <p class="font-null"> It's Florentino Perez's grand master plan – buy the world's best players and then recoup the money through increased sponsorship revenue. His critics question the viability – €258m (£236m) is a lot of advertising space – but this week Real Madrid began chipping away at their £296m debt by agreeing a new deal with current shirt sponsors Bwin for €23m (£21m) a season. The new contract runs until 2013 and represents a €6m (£5.5m) a season increase on the previous agreement because of the incorporation of Ronaldo and Kaka. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969914151900658224.post-15634644986858945032009-09-21T20:41:00.002+01:002009-09-21T20:47:26.490+01:00Can Chelsea make it a perfect 10 victories to start their Premier League season?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SrfYEeCyVtI/AAAAAAAAAIE/hsRumNUZ79k/s1600-h/chelsea+vs+burnley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q9l_dFn-n8M/SrfYEeCyVtI/AAAAAAAAAIE/hsRumNUZ79k/s200/chelsea+vs+burnley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384009450840544978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Chelsea have secured a maximum 18 points from their first six games in the Premier League this season, but can they record another four before the end of October to make it a perfect 10? </span><strong><br /><br />W 2-1 vs Hull </strong><strong>(h), Aug 15,</strong><br />After an unbeaten pre-season which included four wins in America and lifting the Community Shield, Hull gave Chelsea a stern opening test at Stamford Bridge before Didier Drogba earned Carlo Ancelotti's side three points in injury time. <p> <strong>W 1-3 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/6050403/Sunderland-1-Chelsea-3-match-report.html"></a></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">v Sunderland</span><strong> (a), Aug 18<br /></strong>Three days later and Chelsea are in cruise control despite Darren Bent giving the hosts an 18th minute lead. Three second-half strikes in 15 minutes handed the Londoners their second win.<br /></p><p> <strong>W 0-2</strong><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/6067899/Fulham-0-Chelsea-2-match-report.html"></a> <span style="font-weight: bold;">vs Fulham</span> <strong>(a), Aug 23</strong><br />Drogba and Nicolas Anelka wrap up another dominant display as Fulham fail to garner a single strike on target, giving Chelsea their first clean sheet of the campaign. </p> <p> <strong>W 3-0 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6106014/Chelsea-3-Burnley-0-match-report.html"></a></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">v Burnley</span> <strong>(h), Aug 29</strong><br />Not even Brian 'The Beast' Jensen could stop Chelsea recording their fourth win, as Anelka continues his early season form by scoring the opener before Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole settle proceedings. </p> <p> <strong>W 1-2 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6174234/Stoke-City-1-Chelsea-2-match-report.html"></a></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">v Stoke City</span> <strong>(a), Sept 12</strong><br />A raucous atmosphere gave the hosts an invaluable 12th man but Chelsea still came from behind to win with another injury-time winner from Florent Malouda. </p> <p> <strong>W 3-0 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6207381/Chelsea-3-Tottenham-Hotspur-0-match-report.html"></a></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">v Tottenham</span> <strong>(h), Sept 20</strong><br />Chelsea cruised to a club record 11th straight Premier League win in an entertaining London derby. Cole scored his second home goal in succession, Drogba finishing it off with his first goal against Spurs at home. </p> <p> <strong>... and what's in store for the next four </strong> </p> <p> <strong>v Wigan (a), Sept 26</strong><br />Another midweek derby against QPR in the Carling Cup on Wednesday should see fit-again Joe Cole, Paulo Ferreira and Yury Zhirkov bolster Chelsea's squad for their visit to the north three days later. </p> <p> <strong>v Liverpool (h), Oct 4</strong><br />Chelsea's first away trip in the Champions League against Apoel Nicosia shouldn't pose too many problems for Ancelotti's first big test of the season against Rafael Benitez's side four days later. </p> <p> <strong>v Aston Villa (a), Oct 17</strong><br />Martin O'Neill's side are showing signs of prospering this season and will give Chelsea a thorough test at home, leaving Ancelotti with his first dropped points of the campaign. </p> <p> <strong>v Blackburn (h), Oct 24</strong><br />Saturday evening kick-off should see Chelsea fans celebrate on the King's Road with another three points in the bag. </p>The Real Footie Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470220056328597206noreply@blogger.com0